For immediate release: Jan. 27, 2009
Contact: Anne McMillin, APR
Office of Health Science Communications
Office 775-682-9254
Mobile 702-292-4247
amcmillin@medicine.nevada.edu
26th Annual Bierkamper Convocation student winners announced
Largest field ever participates in School of Medicine's research competition
RENO, Nev.— Two University of Nevada School of Medicine students were recognized last week for excellence in research at the 26th Annual George G. Bierkamper Student Research Convocation.
This year’s graduate student Bierkamper award went to Rosie Dixon for her research on “Chlamydial Infection Causes Loss of Oviduct Pacemaker Cells and Inhibits Oocyte Transport.” Dixon, a fourth-year graduate student, worked with Sean Ward, Ph.D., of the School of Medicine’s Department of Physiology and Cell Biology as her mentor.
Chad Watts received the medical student Bierkamper award for his presentation entitled, “Outcomes of Ulnar Collateral Ligament Reconstruction With Abnormal Bone Excision.” Watts, a second-year medical student, worked with Glenn Fleisig, Ph.D., of the American Sports Medicine Institute in Birmingham, Ala.
Students participating in the Bierkamper Research Convocation were evaluated by a panel of judges made up of School of Medicine faculty. Students compete either in the graduate student category or medical student category and are judged based upon the quality of their research, findings, and presentation.
Dixon and Watts will each receive a $250 award as well as recognition for their achievements during School of Medicine commencement ceremonies in May.
Thirty-one graduate and medical students, the largest group ever, participated in the January 20 convocation which provided an opportunity for students to present original research to a group of their peers and mentors.
The Bierkamper Student Research Convocation recognizes the excellence of the medical school students as well as that of faculty and staff who diligently mentor students throughout their research process. All research presented by students at the convocation is original and conducted in addition to their coursework. Most students spend a year preparing their research for presentation.
The convocation was started as a formal activity of the School of Medicine in 1983; however, the event has carried the name of Professor George Gwyne Bierkamper since his death in 1988. The George G. Bierkamper Student Research Convocation embodies the spirit of research and encourages School of Medicine students “not to worship what is known, but to question it.”
As the state’s only public medical school, the University of Nevada School of Medicine has been a leader in healthcare, medical education and research in Nevada since 1969. The School of Medicine includes 16 clinical departments including family medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, internal medicine, surgery, and psychiatry and behavioral sciences, and five nationally recognized departments in basic science including microbiology and biomedical engineering. The more than 185 doctors of University Health System, the school’s clinical practice, offer care in more than 40 medical specialties and subspecialties with eight physician offices in the Reno/Sparks area and seven in Las Vegas. The school is committed to a best practices approach to medicine and is dedicated to exceptional healthcare for Nevada now and in the future. For more information visit www.medicine.nevada.edu.